Which tool technique helps verify acyclic dependencies in a codebase?

Which tool technique helps verify acyclic dependencies in a codebase?

• A. Code formatting check.
• B. Unit tests that execute all code paths.
• C. Static analysis tool that detects cycles.
• D. Performance profiling.

Answer: (C)

Verifying that dependencies form a cycle-free structure is best done with a static analysis approach that inspects the codebase and builds the dependency graph. A static analysis tool can examine how modules or components depend on each other and detect cycles in that graph without running the program. When it finds a cycle, it flags it so you can refactor to keep dependencies acyclic, which helps reduce coupling and improve maintainability. Code formatting checks focus on style and syntax, not how parts depend on one another. Unit tests verify that code behaves correctly across paths, but they don’t specifically ensure there are no circular dependencies unless those tests happen to exercise that import path, which is incidental. Performance profiling measures runtime efficiency, not the structure of dependencies. So, the most direct and reliable technique for confirming acyclic dependencies is static analysis that detects cycles.

Verifying that dependencies form a cycle-free structure is best done with a static analysis approach that inspects the codebase and builds the dependency graph. A static analysis tool can examine how modules or components depend on each other and detect cycles in that graph without running the program. When it finds a cycle, it flags it so you can refactor to keep dependencies acyclic, which helps reduce coupling and improve maintainability.

Code formatting checks focus on style and syntax, not how parts depend on one another. Unit tests verify that code behaves correctly across paths, but they don’t specifically ensure there are no circular dependencies unless those tests happen to exercise that import path, which is incidental. Performance profiling measures runtime efficiency, not the structure of dependencies. So, the most direct and reliable technique for confirming acyclic dependencies is static analysis that detects cycles.